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Alex Nuñez
Alexandra "Alex" Nuñez (b. 1988 in Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian woman who attended Degrassi Community School in Toronto. She graduated in 2006 and is currently residing in Ajax as of 2007. She is good friends with Jay Hogart, Marco Del Rossi and Ellie Nash. She was originally known as a "bad girl" and had once stripped at a bar in order to make ends meet, but as years went by, she began to have more common sense and make better decisions. She was enemies with Emma Nelson. Alex was portrayed by Deanna Casaluce. Character History Background Originally, Alex was the stereotypical 'bad girl' of Degrassi. She was a trouble-maker, came from an awful home life, and was generally considered to be an outcast. As the series progressed, she gained more depth and lost most of her bad girl persona, even becoming one of the 'popular' students. In season five, it was revealed that Alex was a lesbian. Season 3 Alex first appeared as Jay Hogart's equally rebellious girlfriend. She was always seen with him, and didn't have much character development in the beginning of the season. She was shown to be a part of the Candy Bandits group and usually appeared in helping Jay steal various items from Degrassi such as snacks from the vending machine, or electronic devices from the Media Immersions lab. She also appeared to be somewhat happy when Sean dumped Emma, due to the fact that she didn't like her. She became a key character when she began to torment Emma Nelson. The feud quickly resulted in a brutal, hallway brawl when she picked the wrong day to harass Emma. Her hatred for Emma was her character's first and foremost element. At the end of the year, Sean's brother, Tracker, moved to Alberta and left Sean on his own. Looking at the situation in a positive way, Sean invited Jay, Alex, and the others over to his empty solo house anytime. One night, while having a party, Alex's best friend Amy had got drunk and collapsed in the bathroom. Alex, who was terrified called 911 and the emergency came to Sean's house, and revealed that Amy had suffered from alcohol poisoning. Alex stood by her side when she was carried into the ambulance. Season 4 When Paige Michalchuk needed a job to pay for the damages to Spinner's car, she decided to work at a movie theater in the mall. When she realized that Alex was also an employee there, she wasn't pleased. Alex and Paige have friction at first, even revealing that they are both scared of one another, but soon grow to respect each other and become good friends. Paige continued to work at the movie theater with Alex. One day, when Spinner came to the theater with Jimmy, Marco and Craig, he teased Paige about how she owed him for the car damages. Alex talks to Paige and tries to convince her to dump Spinner after seeing how he treated her. Paige was unsure of what to do at first, but Spinner soon came back and embarrassed her in a fight with Craig over who Manny would rather be with. Spinner and Craig's fight got Paige fired. The next day, she broke up with Spinner and told him that she had had enough and was sick of his behavior, leaving him shocked. Alex decides to run against Marco Del Rossi for class president. Her main campaign is that she was a freak. She threatens to reveal Marco's homosexuality to the entire student body during her speech, calling him gay and herself the freak(although in the following season it is revealed that she too is gay), but Marco says she has a chance to win the election 'for real'. She decides to keep his homosexuality a secret, deciding at the last minute that it would be wrong to use homophobia as a winning tactic. However, Marco wins the election and happily makes Alex his vice-president. This title has her interacting more with Marco and Ellie Nash, who quickly become her friends. Although Alex never really met Rick Murray, she already hated him because of his violence to Terri MacGregor. She later confesses to Emma that her mother and herself are abused sometimes by her mother's drunken boyfriends, therefore knowing firsthand what domestic abuse is like. Alex conspires with Jay and Spinner to get revenge on Rick by dumping paint and feathers on him during a game show he, Emma, Jimmy, and Toby participate in. She was the only one of the three who conspired to dump the paint on Rick to not get expelled, and was sorry for pulling the prank after it culminated in a school disaster. Soon after, Rick became the culprit behind a tragic school shooting. She told Jay that while he probably didn't want to talk about the shooting, she did, as she felt remorse for her actions. Spinner most likely did not reveal her name to Ms. Hatzilakos, because she didn't help convince Rick that Jimmy was behind the prank, and she already felt somewhat regretful for her actions after the shooting. In the end, Alex remained in school, while Spinner and Jay were expelled. Later in the year, a mysterious illness broke out through Degrassi. When Alex was among those who felt sick, she went to the doctor and learned that she had contracted gonorrhea. Confused about how Jay could have given her the STD, if she was his only partner, he reveals he had been hooking up with other girls in the ravine. When Alex realized that one of the girls is her best friend Amy, an enraged Alex punched her in the face during rehearsal of their rendition of Dracula. Alex, subsequently, ended her friendship with Amy and broke up with Jay. Alex helped Ellie pay off her rent by showing her how to play cards. She also teaches Ellie a lesson on trust. Season 5 Paige's ex-boyfriend Matt returns to break up with her, but leaves her with a parting gift — marijuana. Meanwhile, Paige encourages Alex to look for a good university to attend after graduation, although Alex continuously insists that she has 'no future'. Eventually, Alex agrees to attend the college fair, but only if Paige gets high with her, which later leads to an argument between Paige and Alex about Alex's future. Paige later apologizes, having not realized how bad Alex's home life really was. Paige admits that she's scared about the future as well, and she and Alex share a small moment. When 'Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh?' premieres, Alex is excited to go. Paige is reluctant to go because she was cut out of the movie. Alex finally convinced her to come, and to get into the 'real after-party' they pretended to be a lesbian couple. Inside, they ran into Jay, who spent the evening making snide remarks about Alex and Paige's 'girl-on-girl PDA.' Alex told him off, however, and she and Paige spent the evening dancing, quite provocatively, with each other. Alex later walked Paige home and they stopped by Alex's apartment to get shoes, as Paige had removed hers while they danced, and Alex did not wish to wait for Paige to retrieve them when deciding to depart the club; she asked Paige to leave them, telling her "Barefoot suits you." Paige chatted with Alex's mother, who mentioned that Alex talks about Paige all the time, which caused Alex to become increasingly embarrassed. A little while later, Alex began to talk to Paige about what happened at the club, when they were dancing together, but was interrupted by her mother and her mother's boyfriend, Chad, arguing. Alex tried to intervene, but Chad angrily knocked her over an end table. Paige was shocked, as she had just discovered what Alex's true home life was like. They headed to Paige's house and Alex explained how good it felt to be there, away from the chaos of her own house. Alex admitted to Paige that she is 'in trouble', the trouble being completely unrelated to what had happened at her apartment. They ended up kissing, though Paige, confused, pulled away a moment later, and pretended it didn't happen and insisted she would sleep on the couch that night. The next morning, Paige refused to talk about the kiss and said she just couldn't deal with what had happened. In class, they agreed to meet at the lane way. There, Paige said being around Alex made her laugh and Alex said being around Paige made her a better person. They kissed, and Jay caught a glimpse. Jay told Hazel, who confronted Paige and asked if she 'turned gay' and didn't tell her. Paige told Hazel she was caught off-guard and said she had just got caught up in the moment and Alex meant nothing to her. Alex overheard and was extremely hurt. After talking to Kevin Smith about the situation, Paige decided to stop caring about what other people thought, and pursued a relationship with Alex. They began to date. Alex and Hazel greatly disliked each other, but Paige urged the girls to be nicer to each other, since they were both important to her and good friends of hers. In an attempt to bond, the trio went on a shopping trip. After Hazel made a comment about Alex not being able to afford some of the clothes, a fight broke out between them. Paige was tired of the fighting and stopped talking to both of them. They decided to stop, and invited Paige to hang out with them since they did not want to lose Paige. A humorous and playful cappuccino fight ensued, after which the three girls ended up laughing about it in the mall security office. As graduation neared, Paige insisted more than ever that Alex plan what to do after high school. She refused, and said that she wasn't on the same time table Paige was and had to do things when they're right for her. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do, but she didn't want to follow Paige to college and be her 'lapdog'. The fight ended when Alex told Paige that she was breaking up with her. They were both hurt, and revealed their broken hearts to old friends. For Paige, it was Spinner, but Alex came home to find Jay. He insisted that he was not there to bother her, but was just there to watch a baseball game with Chad. Alex revealed to him that she had broken up with Paige. Jay offered himself to her as 'a quick rebound', but Alex angrily rebuffed him, and came out to him as a lesbian. Jay backed off and was sincere in cheering her up. Alex proved that she didn't harbor any hatred toward Paige by hugging her at graduation, but her expression also shows that she wasn't over her either. Season 6 Although Alex graduated, she went back to Degrassi for another year to improve her grades, as revealed in the episode, Working for the Weekend.'' She also had a new aspiration to become a physical therapist and was back to Degrassi to earn more credits for university. After a bit of persuasion from Ms. Hatzilakos, Alex reluctantly joined the lacrosse team and tried to make new friends. She met a girl named Serena whom she used to torment. (Alex almost blinded her with a laser pointer during a debate, and later on tripped her, spraining her ankle in the process). Alex didn't remember having done such actions to her. She had a brief conversation with Paige at the Dot, in which she expressed her desire to change and become a better person and rid herself of her previous bad-girl persona. Paige told her that it was impossible to change overnight, which disappointed Alex, who felt she had changed a lot already. Between her conversation with Paige and her run-ins with fellow lacrosse teammate Serena, Alex learned that even if she does change, people would still remember her for who she used to be and may not be willing to give her a second chance. Alex received a phone call from Paige, saying that she would be home from Thanksgiving break and wanted Alex to be there during the break with her. When Alex heard how Paige sounded on the phone, she decided to cheer her up. Alex revealed to Paige that she had a new girlfriend and she was 'kicking butt' in school. She also told Paige that she may join her at Banting next year. Paige insisted that Alex stayed over for a sleepover, just as friends, and Alex agreed. The next day though, things turned sour, when Paige's panic attacks caused them to have an argument over their futures and Alex's new 'imaginary' girlfriend, Carla, who Alex later brought to The Del Rossi/Michalchuck Thanksgiving dinner to get under Paige's skin. Alex didn't know that Paige was stressed out and was suffering from panic attacks. Alex phoned Paige and told her she'd aced her biology test and apologized for her behavior at the dinner. Carla took her out for a congratulations night, which got interrupted when Paige walked in to join them. Later, Alex took Paige over to her place and wanted to know why Paige was back in town so early. Paige said that it was because she missed everyone and no one at Banting understood her. Paige softened the moment by asking Alex if they were going to be together forever, and Alex jokingly asked her if Paige had planned on screaming at her again. Alex didn't want to get into a big discussion about it, since it was a school night, so she changed the subject by offering to tuck Paige into bed. As she went to do so, Paige surprised her by kissing her. Alex asked her what the kiss was all about, but Paige told her it was just a good night kiss. Alex, disappointed and angered by Paige's response, went to bed. The next morning, Paige made Alex 'penance waffles' for breakfast and told Alex the kiss 'never happened', which disappointed Alex. Alex couldn't understand why Paige had come back home from school so much in the past few days, but when she tried to ask Paige about it, Paige told her she had a plan and that Alex would just have to wait and find out. Once at dinner with Alex, Marco, Spinner, and Jimmy, Paige told everyone she was getting a scholarship to Toronto University in the middle of the semester. Alex confronted her outside about it and Paige lied more, and said that she was kicking butt at Banting. When Paige spilled gas on her boots, she asked Alex to look for paper towels in the trunk.There, Alex found burnt papers with failing grades. She then took matters into her own hands by telling Paige's mom about Paige's failing grades at Banting. Paige, of course, was upset that Alex had told her mother. But Alex told Paige that she had only told her mom because she was tired of Paige lying to her since she'd got back in town. Paige told Alex that the reason she had been lying to her was because she had wanted Alex to be proud of her and not see her as a disappointment because of her failing grades. Paige didn't know what to do and asked Alex for advice, but Alex told her that she needed to do what she ''wanted to do. Alex encouraged Paige to have fun and to date a variety of guys casually. Paige took Alex's advice and started seeing Spinner, and Ellie's ex-boyfriend, Jesse, and Alex grew increasingly jealous over Paige's budding attraction to Jesse. She soon helped Jimmy and Spinner model their clothing line at the mall, an event that went bad when Jesse and Spinner got into an argument over Paige. When Paige started to suffer from a panic attack, Alex comforted her and calmed her down. She then angrily broke up the fight. She rejected Paige's attempts to apologize for Jesse and Spinner. Afterwards, at the Dot, Paige told Alex that she was finished with Spinner, but that Jesse still wanted to date casually. When she asked Alex for advice on what to do, Alex told her that Jesse and Spinner 'both suck' and that Paige did as well. She then stormed out on Paige. Paige eventually caught up with Alex outside and confronted her about why Alex was angry at her, since it was Alex's suggestion that Paige date a few guys casually in the first place. Alex suddenly kissed Paige and confessed her love to her. Confused, Paige asked why, if Alex loved her, she told her to go on all the dates. Alex answered that she thought it was because Paige dating guys casually would be no big deal and better than her being with another girl. Paige, shocked, almost confesses something to Alex, but quickly stops herself. She told Alex that she just couldn't be with her right now and walked off, leaving Alex heartbroken. In Don't You Want Me (1), Paige tells Alex that she isn't where she expected to be (i.e.: dropping out of Banting), but that she's happy being with Alex. She kisses her, but Alex pushes her away, saying that she can't play hot and cold. Later, Alex's mom, Emily, tells her that her boyfriend, Chad, ran up thousands of dollars in debt and that they are going to be evicted from their apartment unless they can pay the rent. After telling her friends, Jay's new girlfriend, Mel, offers her a job at a bar as a cocktail waitress. But she soon learns that there's bigger money onstage as a stripper. She doesn't want to, but as the situation worsens, she decides to strip for big cash. Later that night in, Don't You Want Me (2), Paige asks Alex to be her 'sweetheart'. Alex kisses her, saying that the kiss was her answer. After learning that Alex is going to quit her job at the strip club, Paige decides to go congratulate her at her work with a rose bouquet, not knowing that she was lying and is in fact a stripper. When she finds out, Paige and Alex have a big fight that ends with heartbroken Paige storming out, throwing the bouquet of flowers back at Alex, with both girls left crying. While at the bar, Alex meets a man named Alan, who is a regular at the strip club. He tries to win her over, but she declines saying that she is a lesbian and that her partner doesn't want her to work there and she's running out of reasons why she should. Alan tells her that it takes a brave and confident women to do what she's doing and that if Paige can't accept it, its her loss. Alex replies that she doesn't want to lose her. Alan seems to accept it and gives her a tip for her time. The next day, they meet at The Dot, where Paige wants to wipe the slate clean. She offers Alex an internship at her mom's company, but Alex turns it down, saying that she already has a job. Hurt, Paige tells Alex that it 'kills her' every time she strips. Alex refuses to quit, and Paige leaves, heartbroken again. The night of the dance, Alex is at the club where she tells Alan about their fight. Alan asks her to come to Vegas with him, presumably for prostitution, and tells her he'll pay her anything she asks. Disgusted that he would even suggest that, she slaps him and tells Vlad that she quits. She goes home and tells her mother that she quit. Emily says that they would have needed the money Alex earned there. Chad then walks in the door and Alex discovers that all the money she earned was used by her mother to bail Chad out of jail. Furious, Alex breaks down and packs her things. She tells her mother that she's on her own from now on and leaves the house in tears. She goes to the Degrassi Winter Formal in the red dress that Paige had bought her days before. She meets up with Paige and tells her that the dance was the first ever Degrassi dance she's been to. Still kind of hurt, Paige asks her why her dress isn't on the floor at her work. Alex tells her that she quit. She starts to break down, saying that Chad was bailed out, and that now she has nowhere to go or no one to go to. Paige tells Alex that she has her, and they hug. Season 7 Alex had completed all of the credits she wanted at Degrassi and moved in with Paige, Marco and Ellie. Alex seemed to lack ambition, mostly sleeping in day by day. She volunteered to be Paige's driver until she can get her licensed renewed, eager to spend more time with her. But Alex ends up abandoning Paige to smoke pot with Jay. She tries to make it up to Paige by showing off one of the dresses she was given to look after, but this only causes more tension between the two. Paige has her make it up by sending out chocolates, but Alex decides not to do this since Paige's job was more like being a maid and the chocolates were extremely expensive. Alex becomes angry that Paige is working for rich people who can afford $3,000 chocolates when that would pay a three months rent and buy much more important things. The two have a fight at Paige's work, where they end up breaking up. The next day, Paige packs up all of her stuff. Alex says she'll be staying with her Mom's cousin in Ajax, and that she has other options. Alex and Paige knew it was time to end it since Alex felt alone and left behind by Paige's career plans, but that didn't make it any less painful for them to split. Alex is last seen going to stay with her aunt and sadly looking back at Paige as she walks out the door. Mentions In Death or Glory (2), Marco mentions how hard it must be for Paige to deal with her life post-Alex. Paige admitted that it was difficult for her, as she did still love Alex deep down. In Talking In Your Sleep, Griffin questions Paige's sexuality and she tells him that she's currently undecided, as she has dated boys in the past, but Alex was the only girl she was ever interested in. This is Alex's final mention. Appearance and Style Bad girl Alex's style was the very definition of "low maintenance". Never one for dressing up, her fashion choices consisted almost exclusively of casual wardrobe staples that could hold up in the many physical fights she got into, such as wife beaters, relaxed button-up shirts, khakis, and cargo pants. In season 3, Alex was introduced as Jay Hogart's girlfriend and partner in crime. Coming from a low income home, Alex needed to make the most of what clothing her singlemother could afford to buy her. Her clothing was usually gender neutral, and allowed her to blend in as "one of the guys" in her mostly male circle of friends. Her outfit of choice was a white ribbed wife beater paired either with relaxed-fitting jeans or a denim skirt, and running shoes. Her sole accessories were her signature hoop earrings, and a pair of sunglasses she either wore on top of her head, or hung from her shirt. Alex kept her hair cut short (likely so that the girls she got into fights with would not have something to pull at) and wore no make-up, in keeping with her tomboy look. As Alex entered grade 11 in season 4, her look remained the same for the most part. Her preference for neutral tones and wife beaters stayed intact, though she would occasionally wear button-up shirts, as well. The only major change to Alex's overall look was her hair, which she had grown out to her shoulders. During her senior year, she continued growing her hair out. Her style remained much the same, but as she grew close with girly Paige Michalchuk, it began to soften slightly. Alex started to wear fewer midriff-bearing tops, opting instead for cozier hoodies, t-shirts, and polo shirts. Alex's style in season 6 and early season 7 departed the most drastically from the look she had been cultivating throughout earlier seasons. She was now a highschool graduate with a promising future ahead of herself, and comfortable with her lesbianism. No longer feeling as though she had something to prove, she was finally happy. Alex's more optimistic outlook on life was also reflected in her changing fashion sense, and she began putting more effort into her appearance. Though still a tomboy, she began integrating more conventionally feminine items into her wardrobe, such as pumps, blouses, make up, flowing cardigans, and fitted hoodies. Alex also began wearing clothing in a wider variety of colours, most noticeably bright red. She even began carrying a purse to school. By this time she had grown her hair long and wore it in loose waves, and dyed it a slightly lighter shade of brown. Trivia *Alex appeared in 41 episodes. *Alex was seemingly homophobic against Marco, which was revealed to be a possible cover-up for her sexuality. *Her current location is Ajax, Ontario. *Alex is the first character to come out as a lesbian, the second character being Fiona Coyne. *Alex is the first character to blackmail someone's sexuality while competing for a specific extra-curricular position at school, the second character being Drew Torres to Riley. *Alex strongly resembles current character, Bianca DeSousa. *Although Alex is one of the three characters responsible for the prank in Time Stands Still (1), she never got caught and Spinner didn't say anything about her helping him and Jay set it up. Therefore she never faced the consequences. *Alex is one of six characters to have an STI (she had gonorrhea). The other five are Jay, Amy, Emma, Darcy, and Johnny. *Alex is the first character to take an extra year of high school by choice in order to earn more credits and pull up her grades. *She is the second Alex in the Degrassi Franchise. The first is Alex Yankou. She was the first female Alex. *Alex lost her virginity before her first appearance on the show. *Alex was the first main character to be a stripper. Quotes Notable Dialogue *'(''Season 3, Episode 06 - Gangsta Gangsta)' Alex: (''Talking about Emma) "She really is flat as a board, huh?" (First line) *'(''Season 7, Episode 03 - Love is a Battlefield)' Alex: (''To Paige) "You make it sound like cough syrup." (Final Line) Memorable Quotes *'(''Season 4, Episode 03 - King of Pain) Marco: "Hey, I get to pick my vice president." Alex: "I get to pick my nose." *(Season 4, Episode 04 - Mercy Street)' Emma: "You can't buy forgiveness Rick." Rick: "It's an annonymous donation. No one needs to know but you." Alex: (Takes his cheque) "Too late. Nobody wants your guilt money." Rick: "Alex, listen to me." Alex: "Yeah, or what freak, are you gonna put me in a coma too?" (Rick walks away) Emma: "Uh, Alex, can I have the cheque please?" (Alex tears it up) Emma: "Nice, real Alex, maybe if you cared about the cause..." Alex: "What do you know about? Do you ever ice your mom's lip, bandage her up, or lie awake at night listening to her cry?" (Emma is silent and does not answer) Alex: "Yeah, I didn't think so." *(Season 4, Episode 07 - Time Stands Still Part 1)'' Jimmy: "That's just weak, grow up!" Alex:'' "Oooh, Ricky found a friend." Jimmy: "Give it a rest. It's ''boring." *''(Season 4, Secret)'' *(To Jay) "Don't touch me. Don't talk to me. I'll deck your smug face too." *(to Amy) "Tell me about the ravine Amy, about how you went down on my boyfriend, Amy!" *''(Season 5, Episode 12 - The Lexicon of Love Part 1)'' Jay: "Waiting for someone? Alex: Oh look, here I am in an alley and a rat appears, just like magic." *''(Season 5, Episode 14 - I Against I)'' Linus: "You're promoting promiscuity!" Alex: "You're promoting stupidity!" *''(Season 5, Episode 16 - Our Lips Are Sealed Part 2)'' (To Hazel) "Do I detect jealousy? Tell me, how long have you wanted to kiss Paige? *''(Season 6, Episode 07 - Working for the Weekend)'' Unless you want those carrots to become part of your anatomy, I suggest you stop. *''(Season 6, Episode 16 - Love My Way)'' *Alex: (to Spinner) "Put on the rest of your outfit and a smile because we have to model these freakin' clothes! Clear?" *Alex: (to Paige) "I love you, you idiot! So much that it scares the crap out of me!" *''(Season 6, Episode 18 - Don't You Want Me?)'' *Alex: (to Paige) "You don't get to break my heart and then comfort me too." *"I can't drive. I'm too stoned!" *''(Season 6, Episode 15 - Free Fallin' (2))'' *(To Carla) "Well maybe if you tried red meat, you wouldn't be so cranky!" *(To Paige) "Either you're in Toronto mid week or this isn't root beer." *"Usually my food only says 'Eat me' " *''(Degrassi Mini - Reunited) *(To Paige) "Welcome back high school bitch Paige! That took, what, three minutes?" *(To Paige) "We all saw those picture in ''the Globe." *Paige: "I dont even know what i am!" Alex: "Umm it's called bisexual!" *(Degrassi Mini - The Lovecats) (to Paige) "Low fat cottage cheese on pizza day. Don't make me stage an intervention." Relationships *Jay Hogart **Start Up: Before Gangsta Gangsta (306) **Broke Up: Secret (2) (415) ***Reason: Jay cheated on Alex, and gave Emma and Amy a social disease. *Paige Michalchuk **First Relationship: ***Start Up: The Lexicon of Love (2) (512) ***Broke Up: High Fidelity (1) (518) ****Reason: Alex felt like she needed to find her own way and she didn't want to drag Paige down. **Second Relationship: ***Start Up: Don't You Want Me? (2) (619) ***Broke Up: Love is a Battlefield (703) ****Reason: They realized they were way too different. *Carla Carlisle **Start Up: Before Free Fallin' (1) (614) **Broke Up: Don't You Want Me? (1) (618) ***Reason: Alex wasn't over Paige. Also, they had nothing in common, and Alex believed it wasn't worth her time. Category:Degrassi: The Next Generation Category:Degrassi: TNG characters Category:Female Characters Category:Season 3 Category:Season 4 Category:Season 5 Category:Season 6 Category:Season 7 Category:LGBT Category:Degrassi: TNG teens Category:Alumni Category:Athlete Category:Main Characters